Filibusters let minority parties tie up Senate, but they seldom resemble Hollywood's version

WASHINGTON — Filibusters let minority parties tie the Senate in knots and send majority parties through the roof with frustration. But they seldom involve exhausted senators speaking endlessly on the chamber's floor.

Instead, filibusters, taken from a Dutch word that means "pirate," involve any delaying tactic that blocks the Senate from voting on legislation or a nomination.

There is no universal agreement on what a filibuster is. It can involve speaking, forcing repeated votes, or even a threat or perceived threat to block a measure.

Filibusters are not in the Constitution. They flow from the Senate's loose rules, which impose few restrictions on debate.

The most important thing about filibusters is they take support from three-fifths of all senators to halt.

In the 100-member chamber, that means the votes of 60 senators are needed. Unless there is some bipartisan consensus, that can be a tough margin for today's majority Democrats because they control just 54 votes, including two usually supportive independents.

Without a filibuster, approving legislation or nominations requires a mere majority.

The longest filibuster was when Sen. Strom Thurmond, then a Democrat from South Carolina, spoke for 24 hours 18 minutes against a 1957 civil rights bill that eventually passed. In March, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., spoke for 12 hours 52 minutes opposing President Barack Obama's nominee to head the CIA, who was later approved.

More famous than both: Actor Jimmy Stewart's filibuster in the 1939 movie, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

A California judge rejected pimping charges Friday against the operators of a major international website advertising escort services that the state attorney general has called the "world's top online brothel," citing federal free speech laws.

The Infowars website acknowledges its story about a homeless woman claiming Republican President-elect Donald Trump has allowed her to stay at his New York hotel free of charge for nine years is "unconfirmed."

The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it will pay $4.5 million to state, local and tribal governments for their emergency response to a mine spill that the EPA triggered, but the agency turned down $20.4 million in other requests for past and future expenses.